Training Articles

Freeman's Word

Reinvent yourself with your best effort

By Porter Freeman

The process of physical "self-reinvention" is far too valuable to casually attempt. Each and every workout really represents the ultimate game, the World Series, the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup. We cannot have a series of, or even a few, non-productive sessions in the gym and expect to achieve our best final results. Our ultimate achievements reflect the sum total of the most productive and focused efforts in the gym.

There is no room for a sub-par season. We are not the NBA where .500 for the season might earn us a playoff spot. We cannot sit out 40 percent of the season and return to hit the winning home run in Game 7. Each workout is as important as the next and our championship season is ultimately determined by a series of productive sessions. Unfortunately, it isn’t the Rocky Balboa story—we don’t get the luxury of being mediocre, haphazard, and then in a final effort win the belt.

Every workout, every set and every rep should be our best effort. The sum total from each attempt will result in the finished product—our best bodies! Keep that in mind when hitting the gym. We never have a chance for the same workout again. Good or bad, the last workout you did is over and the results are in. Do your best each and every time. Train smart.

OK folks, there it is. Go to the gym or basement or garage or wherever you train, leave all your troubles at the door and focus on the task at hand. This has been called a thousand things: The mind-body connection, focus, Zen … the list is endless but the message is the same. Think about what you are doing in the gym. Think about the shape you are trying to get in and the changes you want to make. Trust me, all our problems will be right where we left them when the workout is over.

Our lives have good and bad days. All of us are going to experience roadblocks and obstacles along the way—that’s just the way it is. But, when you get in the gym, you have 45 minutes to work out and train, drop fat, gain muscle and zero in on what you are doing. You hit the bull’s eye when you make the effort to aim. Make getting in the gym a priority and when you are in there make the time and effort count. If you don’t, it is a waste of time.

We can hardly afford to waste one minute on anything. I have never thought the gym was a social event. It isn’t about being seen or seeing who is in there. It isn’t about the latest gym fashion or the newest hairstyle. Go in, clear your mind, work on your body and accomplish something before you walk out the door. I promise your social life will improve after you have done the work, not while you are doing it.

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